When a comic retells a story, either directly or spiritually, there is always the issue of expansion. Taking that small grain of an idea and blowing it up into a much larger story than it was. This issue marks a new beginning for Miles Morales in the likes of his own "Spider-Man No More" Does it over blow a classic or make it new again?

The original Spider-Man no more was the 50th issue of Amazing Spider-Man. It was not tragedy or a emotional loss of powers that drove him to quit, but frustration of failing his other responsibilities outside of being Spider-Man and downright being unappreciated. This all took place in a single issue, but has been reference countless times as one of the most iconic of the Spider-Man's stories and heavily influencing the story of Spider-Man 2. Now Miles of course is not Peter Parker, he's the guy walking (swinging) in his shadow. There is an unsaid dialogue telling him he should quit that he shouldn't be Spider-Man, which left him constantly doubting himself and almost desperate for a reason not to be Spider-Man. He finally got his wish with the death of his mother by a missed shot from a cop during the Venom attacks.

Tragedy can't be overcome in a single issue, in fact not even in a year. Issue 23 here takes a huge leap of 1 year in which Miles has not been Spider-Man. Bendis commits to the expansion of the story without dragging things out. Still time jumps allow for jumping of story and character development that we have to be caught up on. In a way its a cheat to move things forward. For example Miles has had a bit of an admirer from afar at school, they barely made contact before, and now here we are one year later with them "mackin" on each other ever 5 minutes as Miles' Dad put it. That is just a minor complaint really, the core to the story here is how everybody changed. Miles is unquestionably more confident and serious. Miles' now handicapped father, injured leg, is much more patient and empathetic with his son. The only person who hasn't really changed would be Miles best friend, Ganke. He's still as much of a fanboy as he's always been. Distraught over the loss of a limited edition Lego set and self aware of the situation at hand. Miles isn't done being Spider-Man, it can be a year it can be 2 years, but he will come back. SHIELD even wants him back, practically guilt tripping him on all the potential lives he could have saved.

Peter Parker quit because of ego, self interest. Peter came back when he snapped out of the mindset that it was about him. Miles quit not because of tragedy, but because of fear. Fear has always held him back even before anyone else got hurt. He wants to and does blame himself for everything that can go wrong when he sticks his neck out for other people. To become Spider-Man again he has to overcome this fear. The only question here is when and the real reward is not having the hero back, but how this will make him a better and stronger Spider-Man.

The whole "superhero no more" trope has and will continue to be over done, when that goes wrong what turns out is frustrating because we fail to identify with their struggles, but when done right we are right their by their side. This issue does it right. Recognizing that of course the hero will return, but also allowing us to understand and sympathize to why not just yet.

7.5/10

So, as a comic book reader and a huge fan of Matt Fraction's run on Invincible Iron Man, which ended with a big conflict with the Mandarin, makes sense for me to jump into this whole movie controversy. As should be expected

SPOILERS

So just to kind of recap my general opinion of the film and my expectations going into it. Overall, end of the day I really liked the film. The core story and conflict was much stronger and meatier than Iron Man 2, which was honestly pretty thin. (I'm dying and daddy didn't love me) Tony is in a serious funk. He's afraid and doesn't know how to get back to being himself. He began to build higher and higher without an end goal. Creating and invented became a compulsion he couldn't stop. Similar to other heroes when going through tough confusing times abuse what they know. Batman would spend days without sleep without taking off the suit and fighting anyone he can, Green Lantern could spend months in space, Flash would never stop running. Tony is acting just as self destructive, but in a much more complex and meaningful way than in Iron Man 2. He's not all there, not all that focused and yet he threatens a terrorist. He's lost, but not entirely. He still has Pepper to ground him. Iron Man 3 is about Tony flying too high, building to high and leaving himself weak to enemies and demons he didn't know he created. He spends so little time on his last invention that he leaves those same weakness in himself in his work. Mark 42 was the latest and greatest, but was down right broken at times. Like many creators Tony was burnt out by his work and needed a serious vacation by the end of the film, which is why he destroyed all his armors. He will be back, in what capacity I don't know, but this was an incredibly well thought out character arc that ends where it should end.

That is the good of the film, actually that is the great. It's strongly character driven and engaging. Tony was the snarky joking asshole as usual, but I felt like there was something believable behind the facade. Where the film falters is honestly how this story is told. The film awkwardly opens with terrible voice over from Tony. He honestly feels out of character. The story spends a good chunk in the beginning with essentially "previously on the adventures of Iron Man, story that we chose not to tell, but would rather quickly show" I felt like events that set up the conflict are being rushed and distractingly ignored. The Mandarin's attacks feel distant to what Tony is actually worried about. Not that the elements weren't there I just get this impatience with the storytelling that wanted to change the subject quickly. They are all connected, but they don't flow. This distance and distraction from the Mandarin pays off in the now infamous twist. The Mandarin does not exist.

Not only does the Mandarin not exist, but the man that has represented him, represented the character's ideals, motivations, and actions is a junkie, theater actor, goddamn fool. He's down right insulting to the character. He forsake the character's menace and power and presence for a fucking joke. YET it works. It's probably the biggest middle finger Iron Man fans could be given but this one doesn't involve toy deals, cheesy one liners, and ice skates. This was a middle finger brought from big giant balls. Donkey balls! They knew the Mandarin was expected and fans were excited for him, so they decided to throw it back at them in a blinding twist. The concept of the Mandarin is used and abused like a Las Vegas whore to make a point. Terrorism is simple at least in the eyes of modern America. There is a face to that terror we have invented personified by a damn think tank. A group of scientists so far removed from basic morality that they use terrorism as a marketing strategy. They didn't even plan it, they had a faulty product and were desperate to make it work. The apparent 50/50 chance of huge success or massive failure makes it the perfect product for both sides on the War on Terror.

I can accept this bastard version of the Mandarin because it is a movie adaptation. The character Iron Man fans know still exists and you can read up on him as you like. There are some pretty damn great stories with him involved, but not the best Iron Man stories, which is why Marvel got away with this one. Still as someone who actually has read up more than a wikipedia page on the guy, actual stories with him involved, great stories I mind you, this hurts. It really does. Marvel created something that opens your eyes, a risk that won't be forgotten, and unforgettable film. It pushes the medium. It destroys a villain for the sake of something different, but I would rather have something expected. I'd rather have the Mandarin as he is written.

Now I do not want to hear about people saying "Killian was the mandarin he said it!" or "The character could never be adapted he's too stereotypical, too old" First of all Mandarin is the man Killian created, but Killian himself may technically be the character he created, but he doesn't hold his values, motives, or history. Killian is not a man desperate for power, for glory, he's not a public villain, he does not believe America is an enemy, his goals are about profit. He doesn't hold himself above god, he isn't delusional or have any unearned power. He's not the character.

The second part of the defense suggests that Mandarin is unadaptable to which I say, bull fucking shit. There are no excuses. Any character can be broken down to his essence and recreated into something new and fresh, but unmistakably the same. Mandarin's Ten Rings don't have to be from a crash landed alien they just have to appear as if they are magic, but revealed to be one of many lies. Mandarin is Tony's antithesis. He is everything he is not. I'm not here to pitch what Mandarin could have been, just saying that he could have been.

Iron Man 3 was an impressive film and the twist, while controversial, is an unforgettable step Marvel has taken. I don't want to take away what they have accomplished, but I still really want to see Iron Man actually facing off against Mandarin. I want to see that conflict brought to life instead of a joke.